“Vision without execution is hallucination.”
– Thomas A. Edison
For the second year in a row, project44 was named a Leader in the 2022 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Real-Time Transportation Visibility Platforms, with the highest rating of any vendor on the “Ability to Execute”. As founder and CEO of project44, I am incredibly proud of my team for this monumental achievement. This recognition represents our tireless commitment to our customers to build the largest and most connected supply chain visibility network in the world.
But this begs the question: What does ability to execute actually mean? Any supply chain professional knows that vision and planning are critical, but execution is where the “rubber hits the road” and where success or failure are determined. Gartner’s evaluation in this category is based on seven criteria: Product/Service, Overall Viability, Sales Execution/Pricing. Market Responsiveness/Record, Marketing Execution, Customer Experience, and Operations.
These criteria don’t just evaluate where a company has been; they also help to tell the story of where they’re going. With supply chains more vulnerable and volatile than ever, choosing the right visibility partner with the ability to execute and that will be there for many years to come is of utmost importance. I want to share why I believe project44 is the right partner through the lens of these ability to execute criteria.
1. Product/Service
project44 has built the largest and most connected supply chain visibility network in the world – we currently track 1+ billion packages annually across 170+ countries. We offer visibility on more modes with more depth of capabilities and more regions than any other vendor -- truckload, LTL, volume LTL, groupage, air, rail, barge, ocean, and last mile, plus nodes including Terminal and Yard. This data is cleansed by our industry leading data science algorithms to provide actionable and accessible insights to customers via API or our Visibility Operations Center application.
This means that project44 customers won’t need to stitch together piecemeal technology that creates silos of data and insights. project44 customers – and only project44 customers – gain end-to-end visibility into shipments and orders at the first, middle, and last mile of the supply chain, anywhere in the world.
2. Overall Viability
When asked about our long-term viability, from my perspective it is simple, are we continuing to add an increasing level of value to our customers? Based on peer reviews from our customers we continue to outpace our competitors in this regard. We were the only RTTVP vendor to be named a 2021 Customers’ Choice in Gartner Peer Insights “Voice of the Customer” Report for RTTVP and earned the top spot in the G2 Spring 2022 Grid Report and Momentum Grid for Supply Chain Visibility Software. Our customers tell us via these review platforms that we are indeed adding tremendous value to their organizations which helps to secure our long-term viability.
One key facet of viability is having the capital on the balance sheet to fuel innovation and execution. In January, we announced a funding round led by investors Thoma Bravo, TPG and Goldman Sachs Asset Management totaling $420 million. With this investment, project44 set a record for Logistics Tech enterprise SaaS companies with $862 million in total funding and a $2.4 billion valuation. Our most recent round of funding alone surpasses the combined capital raised by the majority of our RTTVP competitors. Our prestigious investors considered investing in other RTTVP vendors but after extensive research concluded that there was only one RTTVP vendor who could execute on their compelling vision and deliver lasting value to their customers. We are honored that these Tier 1 firms put their trust in us to not only lead this market but continue to grow and be viable now and in the future.
Last year, project44 was awarded the #1 spot on the FreightTech 25. We are humbled by this honor but what pleases us most is that 11 of the other 24 on the list are project44 customers and partners who trust our platform and data to improve their supply chain visibility. We have become the de facto platform on which to build supply chain visibility solutions, a responsibility that we take seriously.
After a phenomenal 2021, 2022 is accelerating even faster. In Q1, we broke multiple company records, including $18.7 million in new ARR bookings and 130% year-over-year growth compared to Q1 2021. We set a record with 152 new logos and our win rate against competitors continues to increase.
This continued support from our customers, partners and investors cements our viability and ensures our longevity for many years to come.
3. Market Responsiveness/Record
project44 continues to be responsive to the industry as well as to the needs of our customers. Every member of our product and engineering teams is committed to developing the best products and delivering the highest quality data.
In the last year, our acquisitions have taken our offerings to unprecedented heights. Integrating best in class solutions from ClearMetal, Ocean Insights, Convey, and Synfioo gives project44 an edge that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. Our product team has continued to expand our capabilities, delivering new products like Cooperative, Over-the-Road Rating and Port Intel to solve supply chain workflow and data quality challenges.
Our customers experience supply chain chaos every day. With project44, they have an agile and responsive partner that is keenly focused on innovation to extend visibility and provide new capabilities to meet the changing demands of a dynamic market.
4. Customer Experience
“Obsess over the customer” is a personal motto of mine and has been a core company value since day one of project44. I believe our commitment to the customer experience is the number one reason we have gotten to where we are today. Keeping the customer top of mind is easy to say, but we put it into practice in a few different ways:
- Seamless and rapid onboarding. Other visibility vendors take many months and often fail to onboard and connect their carriers but with project44, it is typical that these connections can happen in just a few weeks. Integrating into the project44 carrier network eliminates the need for manual or EDI integrations and increases speed to value. On average, our customers see 90% carrier compliance rates.
- True success starts after implementation. As part of the project44 experience, customers gain access to a dedicated team that includes implementation specialists, solutions consultants, value engineers, and customer service managers. This team enhances the value of our offering beyond implementation and onboarding so customers can maximize the full value of our network and product portfolio.
- Flexible data access. We provide the greatest flexibility in accessing transportation data. Whether TMS, ERP, CRM, Control Tower, or other system of record, we allow customers of all sizes to access their data seamlessly in the way that works best for them.
5. Operations
One way we’ve upleveled our operations in 2022 is by bringing on Vivek Kundra as our Chief Operating Officer. Appointed by President Obama, he served as the first Chief Information Officer for the United States. At project44, he will continue to drive overall operational execution and excellence and will lead us to scale alongside our customers as we expand both our global reach and our product offerings.
We strive to operate with excellence at every level and I believe that’s why project44 not only delivers but often over-delivers on our commitments to our customers, partners and carriers.
What’s Next?
project44 is on a mission to make supply chains work. This requires connecting everything that moves over the road, across the ocean, through the air, and everything in between globally. The more connected our network, the more value we bring to our customers.
I believe in what we’re doing at project44. While recognitions like the Gartner Magic Quadrant are incredible milestones for our company, they are not a signal that our mission is over. With global supply chains under both a spotlight and a microscope in the last few years, there has never been a more important time to keep up the momentum. I have never doubted our “ability to execute” – but I am looking forward to seeing just how much more value we can deliver to our customers and partners in the future. As the great inventor and businessman Thomas Edison said, “Vision without execution is hallucination.” I can assure you we not only have a compelling vision but also a well-tuned ability to turn vision into reality. No hallucinations here, just a clear mission and conviction on where we are going and how to get there.